Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Superstitious Eyes

Acrylic on 9x12 canvas sheet
Available through DPW gallery/auction 

This is my submission for this weeks DPW challenge, Superstition. With such a wide variety of superstitious items that could be painted, perhaps the most known is the black cat.

I did a lookup about the black cat superstition and found a wealth of information. A few things I found:

For thousands of years, black cats have been regarded as mysterious creatures with supernatural powers and were associated with witches and even death. It was believed that witches could change into cats; in fact, it is believed they could make that change nine times. Some believe this to be the origin of the belief that cats have nine lives. 


It seems the superstition changes with different countries. Here's a list of some that I found:


A strange black cat on your porch brings prosperity - Scottish
A cat sneezing is a good omen for everyone who hears it - Italian
It is back luck to see a white cat at night - American
Dreaming of a white cat means good luck - American
Cats not allowed in rooms where private family discussions going on - Netherlands
Cats would definitely spread gossips around the town - Dutch
Life-giving rays of the sun were kept in a cat's eyes at night for safekeeping - Egypt
To kill a cat brings seventeen years of bad luck  -Irish superstition


Cats are often viewed as mysterious, and black cats often strike fear into people because of their superstitions. 


What do the cats think? Trust me, they'll never tell.











3 comments:

padmaja said...

You did a great job on those eyes.. they are hot and live!
Just today, I watched with amusement when a car and a school bus just stooped for a few seconds when a cat crossed the street! It is believed that when the cat crosses your path, you will have obstacles and the remedy is to stop and wait for a few seconds haha

Autumn Leaves said...

The American superstitions were for white cats or black, Nancie? Interesting tidbits but you must know I adore this piece. I studied you lines closely and how much you've shown with fewer lines than you would normally use in a cat painting! Purrrfection!

Virginia Floyd said...

Oh my goodness, those eyes! I love cats! You've really captured a cat's gaze perfectly. Those yellow eyes in all the black are great!

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